Creating the Commons

Creating the Commons examines co-creation in both art and science. Under the generic term Open Science the academic community is aiming for greater transparency and broader accessibility. In the arts, too, artists are increasingly producing community based art. Ideals such as equality, collective interest and sustainability are central to these developments.

In Creating the Commons artists and scientists share their work with the public through presentations, performances, workshops and conversations. Also the various dilemmas of co-creation will be addressed, including authorship, inclusion, accessibility and control.

For more information on the artworks and projects, please visit our online 'common garden' creatingthecommons.nl.

Data versus experience
What makes knowledge accessible? The academic project Cooperation Databank (CoDa) creates a meta-analysis of existing research on social behaviour to enable an easier search through this data. The artist duo Semiconductor makes scientific data on the lifespan of stars accessible by converting it to an immersive experience. Both projects make existing knowledge accessible, however they do that in a totally different way.

Striving for inclusivity
What methods are used in art and science to create more inclusive knowledge? Artist Aram Lee uses gestural research to collectively re-read ethnographic objects and unlock the implicit knowledge those objects embody about possible climate change. Scientific researcher Luisa Schneider conducts collaborative fieldwork by engaging with houseless people that have been overlooked in analysis so far. Negotiating Health is a participatory research project co-created with healthcare workers from diverse backgrounds whose work life is subject to the research.

Collective Soup
The artist collective Sunflower Soup aims to eliminate authority and hierarchy. In their approach the artists create collective work by deliberately accommodating each other’s actions, as well as those of raw materials, plants and the public, The tension between collective and individual is also present in the scientific project CaRe & DaRe. The project Case-study Research & Data Reuse is developing a new process to enable the reuse of qualitative data, which is difficult to share due to its sensitive nature, for use in communal research.

Control
How can we avoid that commercial companies control and dictate collective efforts? Both artists and researchers are attempting to break free from the power of commercial companies by creating independent platforms. With Common Garden Constant Dullaart has created a platform built on his own values. SciPost is a self-built open publishing platform founded in the interest of academic freedom.



In collaboration with VU Open Science Programme, Open Science Community Amsterdam (OSCA), Re:Book by VU University Library, Network Institute, LI-MA and Sanneke Huisman

For more information on the artworks and projects, please visit our online 'common garden' creatingthecommons.nl.